


Eames' shirts

by LottaCharlene



Series: Clothes make the man [1]
Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Discovery, Fluff, Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-31
Updated: 2013-05-31
Packaged: 2017-12-13 13:22:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/824770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LottaCharlene/pseuds/LottaCharlene
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eames does not - contrary to popular belief - wear his paisley shirts in his freetime. Whenever he isn't on a job, he wears jeans and a t-shirt like everybody else. But Eames wouldn't be Eames, if he would wear simple plain tees, would he?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Eames' shirts

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to my beta, neafaroo!

It’s the first job in almost thirteen months after the Fischer job. Cobb still isn’t back to the business –at least not yet – so at first it’s just Ariadne, Yusuf, and Arthur.

 

Ariadne finished her studies a couple of weeks before Arthur called and she has been dying to dreamshare again. Of course she didn’t hesitate to agree to the job.

 

After only a few days on the job, Eames gets called in. Ariadne figures not only is it always good to have some back-up but Eames had a really impressive demonstration of his skills while formulating the plan for how to incept Fischer.

 

Two days later Ariadne is looking through some of Arthur’s notes for her, when Arthur asks from behind the laptop: “Ariadne, could you please pick Eames up from the airport? Yusuf and I want to try this new compound.”

“Sure,” she nods. “Can I use your car?”

Arthur just throws the keys at her, a slight smile on his lips. “Don’t crash it. I’m quite attached to it.”

She grins in return and dashes out of the little shop, which they’d chosen as their makeshift office this time.

 

Ariadne is quite familiar with the streets of Strasbourg, but driving Arthur’s Lamborghini is something different. She’s still on an adrenaline high from her drive over as she waits in the arrival hall for Eames. That’s probably the reason, why she’s not annoyed by the Asian family discussing something excitedly right behind her, while pushing their luggage trolley into her heels. And maybe that’s the reason, why she’s more surprised than embarrassed when Eames finally appears.

 

Eames looks a bit tired, but he smiles genuinely as soon as he spots her. He walks over, a travel bag in one hand, a jacket in the other. There are no baggy trousers or the typical paisley shirt for which Ariadne has become accustom. Instead Eames is wearing a pretty normal outfit: a pair of dark jeans (with a tear under the right knee) and a grey t-shirt. But the slogan, however, is so _Eames_.

 

“’I may not be perfect, but parts of me are pretty awesome’?” Ariadne reads aloud and laughs, before hugging Eames.

“You can’t say, it isn’t true,” grins Eames back and gives her a kiss on the cheek. “Good to see ya, doll.”

 

XoXo

 

The preparation for the job goes pretty smooth after that. Eames is back to wearing his awful paisley shirts and Ariadne begins to wonder if he just does it to annoy Arthur. At some point a few days after his arrival, Arthur sends Eames off to go and study their mark in order to learn his routines.  As a bonus Arthur will get some time to work in peaceful silence.

 

The following morning though, Eames comes in wearing again some jeans and a t-shirt. Ariadne thinks it suits him much better than his other clothes, because it makes him look younger – boyish even – and a lot more attractive.

 

Arthur looks at him as Eames lets out a cheery “Good morning!” to everyone in the shop.

 

“I’m halfway gone, darling. I just forgot my note book.”

 

Arthur continues to stares at him, so Ariadne inspects Eames’ shirt closer. What looked like the MTV-symbol is in fact the letters WTF, but in the same style. She chuckles.

 

“Eames,” comes Arthur’s forced calm voice. “What in hell are you wearing?”

 

Eames only shrugs and looks totally unbothered. “I try to blend in when studying my marks. Cya later, Arthur!” He winks and goes.

 

Ariadne chuckles some more, until Arthur gives her a deadly glare and she promptly falls silent.

 

XoXo

 

It’s Sunday and they’ve been working on this job for sixteen days in a row now. After getting complaints from Eames, Ariadne _and Yusuf_ , Arthur finally agrees to take a day off. Ariadne suggests they all go to the cinema, which Eames thinks is an excellent idea, because this ensures that no one is working despite being off. He gives Arthur a meaningful glare to which Arthur responds with an eye roll.

 

They meet early afternoon in front of the cinema and the only movie they can agree on is ‘The Dark Knight’. It’s not the kind of movie Ariadne would watch, but Yusuf seems pretty excited. He tells Ariadne everything about the comics and the characters, and she tries to look the least bit interested. Eventually she spots Arthur and Eames coming around a corner, of course they’re bickering about something, but stop when they’re in earshot. Ariadne just hears Arthur sigh: “You look like a groupie.”

 

Eames smiles and Ariadne grins. Eames is wearing a batman-shirt.

 

XoXo

 

The job runs smoothly one week later, they extract the needed information, send it to their employer and get quite the sum of money in return. Not that anyone of them needed it after the Fischer job, but it’s nice to have anyway.

 

Afterwards, the whole crew heads to Paris, because Ariadne wants them all to attend her graduation party. Even Cobb comes around with the kids, and it’s really nice to have the old team back together. Actually Ariadne has planned to organise the whole party alone, but Cobb insists on helping. So while Yusuf cooks a Kenyan style dinner, Cobb and his kids bake brownies (and turn the kitchen into a warzone, no doubt), and Arthur decorates the table and ensures that everything will be as neat and perfect as possible, Ariadne is left with Eames and a shopping list for alcohol and other things she forgot to buy.

 

After they have finished shopping, Ariadne and Eames queue up at the cashier to pay for all the beer, wine and soft drinks on the list (as well as the bottle of Champagne, Eames has insisted upon).

 

“Where exactly do you find your shirts?” asks Ariadne curiously, because Eames wears another one that fits so perfectly well to his persona as a con-man.

 

Eames gives her an amused look. “Like it?”

 

And this is the exact moment, in which the pesky boy in front of them finally decides to open the can of Coke, which he had been shaking for the last two minutes. A brown, sugary fountain sprays all over Eames. Ariadne shrieks and jumps onto the shelf with the magazines to save herself. The mother of the boy screams, rants and raves and then apologizes, but that doesn’t change the fact that Eames is soaked in Coke, looking utterly surprised.

 

As soon as the shock has faded, Ariadne is bursting with laughter, because the letters on Eames’ shirt say: ‘no pictures please’.

 

XoXo

 

“Where’s Eames?” asks Arthur as he helps Ariadne bring the shopping upstairs.

 

“At the hotel, getting changed. He got a Coke shower,” she says with a smirk. “Don’t ask.”

 

Arthur doesn’t and as soon as they enter Ariadne’s apartment, Eames is – at least for the moment – forgotten.

 

“Wow, this smells awesome!” Ariadne exclaimed after entering the kitchen.

 

“We made cookies!”Phillipa screams and then runs after James into the living room, squealing happily. Cobb smiles apologetically in response.

 

“Come into the living room,” Arthur says from her side as he tugs on her elbow.

 

Followed by Cobb and Yusuf (who’s wearing _her_ apron!) she walks curiously, but also a bit cautiously, into the room and stops dead in her tracks. Her jaw drops to the floor and she can’t say anything. The room is decorated with balloons and a banner saying ‘Congratulations!’ in at least twelve different languages and on the table lays a pile of presents.

 

“Guys”, she whispers, absolutely amazed. “You shouldn’t … you didn’t have to …”

 

Cobb puts an arm around her. “You deserve it. You did an excellent job.”

 

Eames returns, as Ariadne is halfway through the pile. He comes over and plants a kiss on her head, shoving something in the pocket of her jeans.

 

“Use it wisely”, he murmurs, and louder he says: “Well done, pet! I’m proud of you.”

 

He smiles with real fondness and she smiles back. Her fingers trace over the little container in her pocket and suddenly she narrows her eyes in suspicion at Eames’ fresh shirt. ‘One man wolf pack’; the movie ‘The Hangover’ flashes past her mind’s eye.

 

“What …?” she starts, but Eames looks absolutely innocent and turns as Arthur says in his commanding voice: “Get the Champagne, Mr Eames!”

 

XoXo

 

It was a couple of months later that Ariadne sees one of them again, she’s enjoying an ice cream and the sunshine in Sydney’s Hyde Park, when she suddenly spots a very familiar figure. Arthur’s standing at a street corner in front of a fancy building, which is probably a bank, hands in the pockets of his grey chinos, his black shirt fluttering lightly in the warm breeze. Ariadne is halfway over to him, but then the doors of the bank open and Eames walks out. Ariadne can tell that this is a private meeting since Eames is wearing a pair of faded blue jeans and a greyish blue t-shirt.

 

Ariadne squints until she can read the print on the shirt. And almost drops the ice cream. ‘Property of Arthur’ is written in black, capital letters all over Eames’ chest.

 

They’re walking away, not knowing that Ariadne watches them from just a stone’s throw away. Arthur says something that makes Eames laugh, and then he’s entwining his fingers with Arthur’s. Arthur doesn’t pull away, instead moves even closer to him as they walk.

 

This time,  the entire ice cream hits the ground.

 


End file.
